Speechless
by ohmyloki
Summary: "Speechless, are you?" he clucked his tongue, "No matter, it was not my intent to trade words with you tonight."
1. Prologue

**AN: So, this is just a little drabble. I've wanted to try my hand at writing for so long and Loki/Darcy finally inspired me enough to do something about it. I have no idea if I'll take this anywhere.. I have no idea if anyone will even read it. But yeah, here it is! Totally unbeta'd by the way. All mistakes and whatnot are mine.**

Darcy felt the shift in the atmosphere a moment before his hand landed on her shoulder; allowing her, however brief, a second to prepare.

His grip was tight but not painful. Firm enough to let her know that she wouldn't be able run away, firm enough that she knew she'd be able to see the faint outline of his fingers the next day (and so what if that display of strength, the show of his raw masculinity, gave her a small shiver of pleasure).

"Loki," she gasped.

He spun her around, already advancing.

Darcy stumbled backwards, teetering on feet unused to such tall heels. Her pulse quickened and Loki could see the evidence in her neck. And what a nice neck that was, he noted appreciatively. His gaze swept lower, taking in her attire for the evening.

A simple dress, really... Darcy had never been one for haute couture. It hugged her curves the entire way down, stopping just above her knees. Made of black silk with a deep V-neck, cut low enough that it made him briefly (or not so briefly) ponder her undergarments.

The soft thud of Darcy's back hitting the wall brought Loki out of his contemplation. He tore his eyes away from the nuisance covering Darcy's lovely body (he'd see what he could do about that later), looking back up at her face. Her eyes, wide and crystalline, were filled with a mixture of fear and… lust?

His lips twitched into a smirk, "Were you under the impression you could hide from me that easily, my dear Darcy?"

He could feel the heat radiating off her body, with only the few sparse inches left between them. Her head tilted up to look at him more directly and, oh, how he loved the slight thrill, the feeling of power, when he noted how small she was next to him. Even in those strange, high shoes the Midgardian women seemed so fond of.

She shook her head slightly and parted her lips to speak, no doubt to deny the fact that she had, rather pathetically, been trying to avoid him that evening.

He tsk-ed and brought a hand up to rest on the back of her neck, silencing her while tilting her head back even more, allowing him to look nearly straight down at her.

"Now, now. Remember to whom it is you're speaking, darling. 'God of Lies' isn't a moniker handed out with little aplomb."

She blinked slowly, involuntarily running her tongue over her lips.

"I-I… wasn't hiding, per se."

Loki cocked his head slightly, "Oh," he whispered, "what would you call it, then?"

Her eyes drifted to the floor and her shoulders slumped, mind running in circles trying to produce a witty comeback like she so often had but it failed to find purchase. She opened and closed her mouth once, twice, until finally pursing her lips back together in defeat. Her eyes turned back up to him then, defiant.

He stepped forward; closing the last few inches left between them and pressed her harder against the wall, his leg sliding in between the ones she had parted in an attempt to show strength.

"Speechless, are you?" he clucked his tongue, "No matter, it was not my intent to trade _words_ with you tonight." His own words brushed across her face, his cool breath making her face flush with heat.

Darcy's heart was in her throat and her breathing, though quick, was even… and yet she still felt as if she couldn't get enough air, that she would possibly never get enough air again if he continued to look at her that way.

The hand behind her neck traveled to her face, fingers tracing her cheekbone lightly. They slowly made their way down the side of her bare neck, to her collarbone, blazing a trail of heat in their wake. His other hand gripped her hip tightly and she swallowed, nervously.

His fingers continued to travel lower, playing with the V made by the material of her dress, slipping just under the silk. Goosebumps rose everywhere he made contact.

Loki's eyes searched hers, as if looking for an answer to an unasked question. He moved his hand back up to her face, cupping her cheek gently and, though she spoke no words, he had seemingly found her reply.

And finally, finally… he closed the distance between them, his lips soft against hers.


	2. Chapter One

**AN: Alrighty. So.. I continued this thing, sorta. I still don't know what I'm doing to be honest. Bear with me here, it's my first rodeo!**

**AND MY TOTAL AND COMPLETE LOVE TO MILDRED JOSEPHINE. She was pretty much the one who convinced me to keep going and she totally lent me her awesome brain and beta'd the shit out of this. I'm surprised she hasn't gone into hiding because I can be a handful. ;) Also, IMO, she's pretty much writing the quintessential Loki/Darcy story in 'In the Service of Liars and Killers' so if you haven't read that check it out right here on FF! I cannot praise her or that story ****_nearly_**** enough.**

**With that said, away we go!**

* * *

CHAPTER ONE

Darcy walked silently down the hallway, her right hand running along the bottoms of various picture frames adorning the wall, pondering her circumstances.

It had been a little over a year since Thor's little bro had reigned destruction down on Manhattan. It had taken six months of that year before Thor had managed to make a return appearance and apologize profusely to Jane. She had taken his apology far too graciously for Darcy's liking, especially since Darcy had been the lucky one that had been around to take the brunt of Jane's temper when she found out exactly _why_ they had been moved to Tromso. She had then promptly given Darcy the day off, dragging Thor to her bedroom and slamming the door hard enough to rattle the windows and knock over a picture frame. Packing up her things to enjoy her sudden free time, Darcy had laughed a bit at that, thinking that maybe Thor wouldn't be getting off as lightly as it had first seemed. She cut off that particular train of thought before it took her places she knew she didn't want to go.

Thor's visits since his first thunderous return (Darcy had made this joke multiple times, much to Jane's displeasure) had become longer and more frequent until the announcement finally come just the month before: he would be staying on Midgard indefinitely to assist with The Avengers as part of some deal made between SHIELD and whatever Asgard's version of a court system was. This brought Darcy to where she was today. Tony Stark had taken Thor's news and run with it, insisting on throwing a party. Darcy got the distinct feeling that Tony hadn't been given many opportunities to do things up 'Stark Style,' as he had called it, since the Chitauri invasion and subsequent mountain of legal paperwork and rebuilding of a city. Unfortunately, due to the classified nature of what it was they were celebrating, the guest list was rather sparse. Had this been a true Tony Stark affair _before _the invasion, Darcy Lewis, intern extraordinaire, doubted she would have ever been given a second thought. No doubt her ability to understand and deal with Jane during the Bifrost project had gotten her on the fast-track to a friendship with the former playboy.

Tony's house -strike that- Tony' _mansion_ was unbelievable. She still couldn't understand how any of it had happened, or how she could possibly be there. Yes, she was Jane's assistant. Yes, Jane was currently in the room down the hall -probably attached at the mouth to Thor's big Norse face like something out of an alien horror movie- but she still found herself in awe of the situation. Darcy would never admit to the very, very small twinge of jealousy she felt occasionally when in sight of their sickeningly sweet PDAs. But who wouldn't be at least slightly jealous of having a tall, very well built, Norse deity worshipping your every move?

She continued down the hallway, the music and noise fading into the background as she paused to observe a particularly interesting sculpture. An Iron Man bust made out of what seemed to be scrap metal.

"Ironic," she said to the bust, laughing a bit at her own joke, not that she would admit to that. Just as she was about to continue her exploratory mission of the rest of the 90th floor of Stark Tower -or Avengers Tower as the people 'in the know' had started to call it affectionately- she noticed that the door a few feet down on the opposite side of the hall was cracked open, blue tinted light flickering inside.

She glanced down the hallway, curious. Fairly certain everyone was still congregated in the large living room where the party was still going, she stepped forward and opened the door enough to poke her head in.

The source of the flickering light was easy enough to spot. The TV on the wall had been left on, with the volume just low enough to provide some white noise. Darcy glanced around the room.

It was a bedroom: that much would be obvious to anyone. It wasn't like the other bedrooms she had seen in her brief experiences in the tower prior to this evening. The other bedrooms looked as if an interior decorator had gone wild: things displayed on every available flat surface, colors vibrant and bold, baubles and furniture that didn't make any sense to Darcy. Her tastes tended to be on the more practical side of things. But this room was absent of all these things. The colors were neutral beiges and golds, the surfaces were mostly clear of clutter save for a few practical items. A clock stood on the nightstand and an old leather bound book lay on the side table next to the loveseat. The bed was made neatly with two simple pillows and a comforter that looked as if it had come straight from Darcy's dreams. Thick and squashy, she could only imagine how good it would feel to lie down under that after a long hard day of dealing with Jane's enthusiasm for all things science.

Deciding to save the world one electrical appliance at a time (Stark Industries was all about clean energy and going green these days), Darcy went into the room and shut the TV off. The room sank into darkness, enough ambient light streaming in the windows from the bustling city to allow her to navigate her way back out. Her path back to the door, however, took her within touching distance of the bed and she could not help but run a hand over the comforter. Softer than she had imagined, she contemplated exactly how awkward it would be for someone to come across her rolling around a guest bedroom, cocooned in this modern marvel of bedding technology while there was a party going on just down the hall. Her musings were cut short, however, when the lamp in the corner of the room suddenly flared on and Darcy realized she was no longer alone.

She whirled around and choked out a gasp when her view was almost entirely obliterated by the large, dark figure just an arms length away, blocking her way out of the room. Backing up she was promptly reminded of the bed when it butted up against her knees, barely able to keep her balance and prevent her from toppling over.

She took in the green and black color scheme of the person standing before her, her eyes widening almost comically. He stared back at her with his head tilted to the side, eyebrows furrowed. Unbelievably, given his past actions, in that moment he reminded Darcy of an adorable puppy, all wide-eyed and curious.

"You look like a dog."

Darcy clapped her hands over her mouth, mentally face-palming herself. Had she really said that out loud? Had she really just told the God of Lies and Mischief, the man who had not so long ago tried to take over the _planet _with a goddamn army from outer space_,_ the he looked like a dog? Mentally she knew, _she knew,_ that he had been punished in Asgard. Exactly how he had been punished had been one of the few secrets among their ragtag group that had managed to _stay_ secret, even from her. Her brain also knew that he was currently on earth as part of Thor's agreement and therefore was technically under his watchful eye. Of course the only thing on which Thor seemed to have his 'watchful eye' that night was Jane. Whatever Loki's punishment was involved him being on his best behavior and therefore outright killing her would be a bad move on his part but that certainly didn't stop her body from ignoring all this knowledge.

She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising, her heart starting to race and the adrenaline rushing through her body suddenly left her breathless with only a burning sensation forming in her throat. He, on the other hand, just stood there, that same curious look on his face like _she_ was the puppy: a puppy he couldn't decide if he thought was cute because 'Hey, it's a puppy!' or a puppy he felt the need to toss back outside because it had been rolling around in its own filth just moments before. Seconds were ticking by excruciatingly slow and Darcy could still picture her words floating above them in the air like an errant speech bubble come to life she desperately wished she could reach out and stuff them back into her mouth.

"I'm sorr-" she started before realizing her hands were still clasped over her mouth. Slowly lowering them, her hands ghosted over her pockets hoping she was carrying something, anything, to defend herself with if necessary.

"I'm sorry. You just scared the crap out of me and I didn't think anyone was in here. I thought everyone was in the other room and I just wasn't expecting you here. I mean, I know you're here on earth and I know you're always with Thor," she received an eye twitch at that, "but I just wasn't expecting you here, in this specific room. Oh my god, is this your room where you've been staying? I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to intrude. That does explain why the room isn't as offensive to my eyes as the rest of Tony's -that's not the point, though. I'm really, really sorry. I just came in to turn off the TV. Trying to save the world in my own way, you know? Being surrounded by all of these super -never mind. I'm sorry. If you'll just scooch over a bit I'll get right on out of here. Please don't kill me." The last sentence left her mouth as one long word.

His head had straightened from its judgemental head tilt, his eyes narrowed and slightly more intense than before. During the course of her babbling his eyebrows remained furrowed and Darcy could swear that his mouth had a slight lift to it on the right that had not been there before. As if he could sense she was about to launch into another inane apology, he nodded his head slightly and stepped aside, his arm gesturing for her to pass by freely. Letting out the breath she was unaware that she was holding, Darcy took a few slow, judging steps forward before taking off as quick as possible without quite being able to label it 'running.' Once in the hallway, she heard the door click shut softly and she glanced over her shoulder, pausing for a moment next to the Iron Man bust. She took a moment, contemplating her mortality and getting her lungs under control.

"Why didn't anyone ever mention Thor's brother was gorgeous?" she said to the statue companionably once she had calmed herself. She patted the bust on the shoulder and walked back down the hall to join the party. Thor's booming and slightly intoxicated voice called out to her when she arrived back in the room.

"Darcy!" he almost shouted. She spotted him sitting on the sofa in the center of the room, the rest of the attendees having spread themselves around the perimeter. She eyed the ceramic mug in his hand dubiously, there were some things you never forget. Jane must have been in the restroom, for his face was distinctly lacking in facehuggers.

"What's up, buddy?" she asked as she sank into the couch next to him.

"Jane tells me you plan on continuing your work with her once your schooling has finished!" He beamed.

"Sure am. Turns out SHIELD isn't so fond of letting those of us 'in the know' roam around the world freely." She grinned, but continued when she noticed Thor's slightly crestfallen face. "It's alright, though, I probably wouldn't have done much with a poli-sci degree, anyway. Even if I didn't work for SHIELD, you'd have a rough time getting rid of me. Who else would let me use them as target practice with the van?" She threw him a wink and he let out a hearty laugh.

It was true, though. SHIELD, even if The Avengers were household names now, was not too keen on letting people with firsthand knowledge of the team out from under their watchful eye. It was also true, however, that Darcy had been floating around college with no real purpose or passion until Thor changed their lives forever. Now she felt part of something -part of a team- even if she was not a genius and did not have super strength. She knew that Jane valued her and by proxy so did everyone who valued Jane. It was no hardship on her part to stay along for the ride after graduation.

Glancing around, Darcy could see that the party had started to settle down, people pairing off for the night. Pepper and Tony sat in the large, squishy armchair nearest the fire being the adorable couple that they were. Clint and Natasha, though they would deny any romance between them to their last breath, were sitting at the bar occasionally doing shots of who knew what while discussing a movie they had both seen. Darcy had been surprised to find out what film buffs they were. Bruce had meandered off earlier in the night, weary of the alcohol being consumed around him. Even though he had come quite far, he still was not quite trusting himself to let loose entirely. Steve was perched outside on the balcony looking lost in thought as he gazed out over the city he had helped save. He did that often, Darcy had noticed. The look in his eyes usually varied between wistful and analytical. Jane returned then, wobbling slightly as she fell into Thor's lap, giggling, two signs that she had clearly had a bit too much to drink. Darcy smiled at the couple.

"I think I'm going to head back. Don't do anything I wouldn't do, you crazy kids!" Jane looked as concerned as she could muster, given her state.

"You sure, Darc? There's still plenty of drinks to go around!"

"Yeah, yeah. I've had a long day and just want to slip into a coma for a little while," she paused, "and maybe you should leave those drinks to some of the other, higher metabolized, people in this room."

Jane stuck out her tongue as Darcy stood up. She looked around the room once more, getting a wink from Tony before his attention turned back to Pepper. Seeing that her new friends were all immersed in their own little worlds, she snagged her jacket and slipped out of the room as stealthily as possible.

* * *

SHIELD had been as kind as to pay for a nice little two-bedroom apartment just a few blocks away from Stark Tower, where Jane and Darcy were currently doing the majority of their work. Thankful that she had not had more than a couple of drinks and remained fairly clear-headed, Darcy rode the elevator down to the ground floor, shrugging into her coat as she walked across the lobby and stepped into the cool spring air. She loved the time of year at night, especially in a city. The crisp, cool air. The lights that looked almost ethereal in the darkness. The streets were just a little quieter and calmer than in the daytime, but still busy enough that she never felt alone. The walk was quick and before she knew it, Darcy was stepping back into her shared apartment. Not bothering to turn on any lights, she made quick work of locking up. Jane would almost certainly be staying at the tower with Thor tonight.

It was that errant thought made her still and think of her encounter not even an hour before.

She hadn't seen much of Loki in the news broadcast. The footage they'd shown of the invasion on TV had always been fairly grainy and far away. It came as a surprise when Darcy saw just how attractive the man was. To be quite frank Darcy didn't think she had ever bothered to looked past the helmet, either. It was amusing, she thought, that he wore such a gaudy thing on a semi-regular basis yet he had divested his room of all the knick knacks and bright colors that seemed to seep into every other part of Tony's penthouse.

While similar in height to Thor, their likeness ended there. There was definitely something to be said about a lean build, dark hair and cheekbones that could cut glass, though. Darcy had no doubt he'd have an easy time making a go of it as a model if he was interested in looking for a career change. All of that, however, certainly didn't mean he was any less terrifying.

Logically, Darcy knew that she shouldn't fear for her safety. If Clint Barton, of all people, was okay with him being just a few rooms away the majority of the night, it meant that she was safe. But you still could not look up into the eyes of the person who had been the harbinger of doom just a year prior and not be left a little off-kilter, no matter how pretty those eyes might have been. (And boy, were they.) She smiled to herself as she walked into her bedroom, sitting down on the edge of the bed and as she started to unbutton her top, a slight rustling noise caught her attention from the corner of the room.

Darcy's hands stilled where they were and her spine straightened out. She reached slowly towards the lamp sitting on her nightstand and in one swift motion flicked it on, grabbing her taser out of the drawer, standing up and whirling around to face the corner.

"What-" Her voice came out strangled as she took in the leather-clad figure that was currently sitting in her chair, an open book in his lap. He lifted an eyebrow, set the book on the shelf next to him, and stood up slowly. His presence loomed over her even though he was virtually as far away as he could be, all things considered, and Darcy was amazed at how small her room became in that instant. She suddenly felt like a teenager showing her boyfriend her room for the first time. A brief thought flickered through her mind, hoping she had nothing embarrassing sitting out.

"Did I frighten you?" he asked. _Jesus, _she thought._ The voice matches the face. Not fucking fair. _This was before she realized that, hey, he was standing in her room uninvited.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" She asked, proud at how forceful she sounded. Darcy would deny tooth and nail that her voice cracked somewhere in the middle. He turned to his side, running his finger along the bookshelf and observing the titles nonchalantly.

"I apologize," he replied. "Is this not the customary procedure when meeting someone new? Letting yourself into their private quarters and sneaking about?" Darcy paled as her hand, previously outstretched with the taser, dropped slightly. He couldn't possibly be that upset about what had happened earlier, could he?

"What? What are you talking about?" Loki glanced over his shoulder, eyebrows raised in a mock expression of innocence.

"Surely that was your intent earlier? An introduction?" Darcy's eyes narrowed.

"No. It was an accident. I'm pretty sure I even apologized." Loki turned, taking a couple of casual steps toward her.

"Oh, I see. Your little speech earlier was an attempt at an apology?" He paused for a moment, looking around her room, "Once again, you have _my_ apologies. Have you been injured recently? Incoherence of that sort is typically found in the warriors of Asgard after battles in which they have lost their protective headgear." Darcy sputtered a bit, the alcohol in her system still causing a bit of fuzziness as she ran over his words again.

"Wait. Are you calling me... brain damaged?" Loki simply stared at her, innocently.

"Who the hell do you think-" she started hotly but cut herself off when he stepped towards her more quickly, his face losing all trace of innocence and slipping into something just this side of menacing.

"I would keep mind to whom it is I am speaking, mortal. Surely you would not wish to upset someone capable of ending your existence without a second thought." As he spoke, Darcy was aware the words themselves were threatening, that he was trying to scare her; but she felt the lack of heat, the lack of true intent behind them. It was as if he was putting her on, acting as though threatening her was expected of him. Of course, this did not mean that Darcy was not shaking in her boots -only a little- at the words alone, lack of intent or no.

"Jesus. Okay, buddy. I get you. You, God. Me, silly little human. Trust me, I have no doubts about who I am." He raised his chin slightly, evaluating her. The menacing look seemed to melt off his face as easily as it had come and he continued looking about her room. Probably silently judging her, Darcy thought.

"You should be more careful," he finally said. "_I_ may have been lenient in your unwanted presence, but others might not be so kind." He turned, making as if to leave.

"Wait! Wait a second," she managed to get out before he had gotten too far. "I really am sorry about earlier. I mean, that doesn't excuse you doing the same thing to me now and the fact that you actually broke into the building to do it. Seriously, didn't your mother ever teach you two wrongs don't make a right? But I am sorry." She risked sticking out her arm for a handshake as she shrugged. "My name is Darcy. It's nice to meet you?" He searched her over, evaluating. But then he nodded once, took her hand in his and brought it up to his lips.

"The pleasure, it seems, is not entirely yours." The breath from his words caressed the back of her hand, sending shivers down her spine. He pressed his lips softly to her knuckles, a brief kiss, his eyes locked on hers the entire time.

"And I am Loki, of Asgard."

He gave a small smile and dipped his head to her. Before she realized that he hadn't apologized for _his_ actions, Darcy found herself alone in her room.

"The hell?"


	3. Chapter Two

**AN: Ugh. I suck, I'm sorry this took so long. I really don't know what I'm doing. But, if you feel like it, you can find me on tumblr (ohmyloki, or find the link in my profile) and try your best at bullying me to write faster. I also wrote another story for a Darcy/Loki smut exchange which you can find posted on AO3 since I'm leery of FF's rating system. It's called 'Consecration' and is full of smutty goodness! You can find the link to that in my profile as well!**

**Thanks to the amazing MildredJosephine for her beta talents. I don't know what I'd do without her!**

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

The third time Darcy ran into Loki went marginally better than the first. She mainly chalked this up to the fact that no words were spoken between them.

She was running around the lab at Stark Tower looking for a notebook that Jane had misplaced and needed _right this second _when she remembered the last time she saw it. Last week. The night of Tony's party. Jane had been furiously scribbling down notes before Tony had snagged the notebook from her, replacing it with a brightly colored drink complete with an umbrella and mumbling something about 'all work and no play makes Jane a stick in the mud'. Darcy sighed and trudged out of the lab to the bank of elevators down the hall.

She pressed the call button and waited for the elevator to arrive, noticing a few junior SHIELD agents standing further down the row. They were grouped together, heads bent down and whispering like a group of schoolgirls sharing secrets. Darcy, never being one to pass up on good gossip, shuffled over a bit and inclined her head.

"-blood everywhere."

"That's all? That barely seems like a punishment! There are people who do shit like that for fun on earth! Haven't you seen those guys who hang from hooks embedded into their backs? _That _would be a harsher sentence!"

"Hey, man, don't ask me. Everyone's been very hush-hush about the whole thing. I'm just telling you what I heard. He's been behaving since he came back, I guess. Have you read some of the myths? If any of them are half true, I don't blame the dude for being a little crazy."

"Yeah, yeah. Did you read about the horse-" He cut himself off when his eyes caught Darcy who, really having no skills at remaining innocuous, was obviously leaning too far in their direction to be doing anything besides eavesdropping. She glanced over at the agents and gave them her brightest smile as the elevator door dinged open. Getting on, she grabbed her iPod out of her purse and shoved the earbuds in just as a man glided in with ease situating himself beside Darcy. Catching a glimpse of the his clothing, a wrinkle-free black suit, she assumed he was another SHIELD agent and didn't bother to scrutinize further. The doors slid shut and she busied herself by searching for new songs to download.

The ride up was uneventful. Darcy continued messing with her iPod and quietly started to sing along to the current song, tapping her foot to the beat and all but forgetting she wasn't alone in the elevator. She was distinctly unaware of the stare she was receiving from the other occupant. When the elevator slid open on the appropriate floor Darcy momentarily revelled at the fact that it hadn't stopped once in the 80 or so floors she had just traveled before the thought flitted out of her mind as she pocketed her iPod and walked out of the elevator.

Quite suddenly there was the very odd sensation of her head being jerked backwards as she crossed the threshold of the door. Her entire body flinched as she heard a faint 'pop' in both ears before she stumbled forward. Someone else had been in the elevator, she remembered. Trying to keep her balance, she spun herself around to see who or what had just tried to decapitate her.

"What the fu-" the words died on her lips as she finally took a more detailed look at her elevator companion who she thought was wearing a standard issue black SHIELD suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie. What she failed to notice when he first entered the enclosed space was the addition of a very sharp looking green patterned scarf. Her eyes travelled up to green eyes that perfectly matched the shade printed on the fabric. He was smirking at her, eyebrows raised, her iPod laying, dwarfed, in his large hand. The earbuds still swaying violently after having been ripped out of her ears. She barely had time to put all the pieces together in her mind before the door swished shut unnaturally fast. His eyes not leavings hers until they closed. Loki had just stolen her iPod right out of her pocket.

Darcy was unaware of exactly how long she stood there, her eyes fixed on the elevator doors still going through the play by play in her mind, questions hitting her hard and fast. Why hadn't she noticed it was him before? Why was he wearing a suit? Why did he have to look so damned good in a suit? _Why did he just steal her iPod_?

"What's up, buttercup?" Darcy gasped and spun around again, apparently intent on doing her best impression of a carnival ride that day.

"Tony! Jesus Christ." Darcy's hand flew up to her chest in a vain attempt to keep her heart located _inside_ her body. Tony just gave her his trademark grin.

"Nope. Not Jesus Christ. I'm not the second coming bu-"

"So help me god," Darcy said, cutting him off before he could complete his sentence, " if you finish that with 'I can have you coming in a second' I will tell Jane who it was that moved everything in her lab two inches to the left. I still can't fathom how you accomplished that in under an hour considering the lab tables are _welded_ to the floor."

Tony was quite clearly torn between disappointment in not being able to finish his punch line, pride in her roundabout compliment, and terror concerning what Jane might do if she found out he had been behind that particular prank. Pride eventually won out and the grin remained on his face. It had taken days of Jane constantly bumping into the tables and knocking over her homemade equipment before she had figured out what had happened. The prank also had the bonus effect of finally allowing Tony to replace and, more importantly, upgrade those hobbled together, unsightly machines she brought with her that had no business being in Stark Tower.

"You wouldn't dare. Besides," he pointed at her, "JARVIS has been keeping track of how many times you've logged in to watch the footage. She wouldn't be too pleased with you either." Darcy rolled her eyes. He did have her there.

"So, Sweet Pea, to what do I owe the pleasure of your unannounced yet not completely unwelcome visit?"

Darcy dropper her hand from her chest, heart beat finally back to a normal, and she wondered briefly if every encounter with Loki was going to be this dangerous to her cardiac health. Oh, yes- why was she here again?

"Oh! I'm looking for Jane's notebook. She had it up here before Thor's party." Tony nodded in response.

"Be glad you left when you did, honeypot. I didn't know our dear Jane was such an exhibitionist," he chuckled and then snapped his fingers. He walked over to the bar, shuffled a few glasses and bottles around and then held the notebook high above his head, triumphantly. Then he squinted one eye at her.

"Tell me why I should just hand this over to you, Joke Ruiner. I should make you work for it." Darcy huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Quit being a baby just because I blew your innuendo." Darcy realized her error a moment too late, just as Tony's grin grew bright as the sun.

"Oh, honey, you can blow my innuendo any day of the week!" he said walking back to her. "And just for giving me that wonderful opening, I'm going to give this to you free of charge." He handed her the notebook. Darcy just shook her head at the man-child, saying thanks and began her retreat back to the elevator when a thought occured.

"Hey, Tony?" She stopped and turned around again, putting on the best expression of pure innocence she could muster. He was already bent over a table, his back to her, hands flying along the glass of a tablet. He continued working as he replied.

"Yes, dear?"

"So, uh..." Darcy hesitated, not sure how to ask any of the questions that had been lingering in her mind. "Do you know anything about Loki?"

Tony's hand stilled on the tablet as he glanced over his shoulder.

"That depends. Guy's not exactly going around spilling his heart to everyone. Thor does that enough for the both of them. But, yeah. They're kind of squatting in my penthouse, so I run into him from time to time. What do you want to know exactly?" He turned crossed his arms, leaning against the table.

Darcy wasn't sure she could answer that. What _did _she want to know exactly? Her two encounters with Loki had seemed completely terrifying with what knowledge she did have of him. Yet, at the same time, there was always an undercurrent of something else when she saw him. Was it some kind of thrill seeking behavior on her part? Were ambiguous encounters with the Norse God of Lies and Mischief who had tried to take over the entire planet instead her version of base jumping? What the hell was wrong with her?

"Um. I just overheard some people talking. You know, saying that they didn't think his punishment was severe enough or whatever. Do you know anything about... that?" She finished lamely. Tony gave her an odd look but he didn't seem to want to delve into _why_ Darcy was suddenly curious about their newly acquired god just yet.

"I was there when Thor brought him down from Asgard, so I know a little bit, but not much. Thor doesn't seem to want to talk about it and I don't seem to care enough to ask." His eyes appraised her, as if he were deciding how much he should say. "I know that he had his lips sewn shut since the moment he left earth last year. They pulled the threads out down here once Fury gave the say-so. It was... messy, to say the least. A lot more blood than I expected," he paused, "but I also got the distinct feeling that that wasn't all that was done to him back home. But like I said: don't care enough to ask."

Darcy thought about how she would feel having her mouth sewn shut. The needle plunging in and out of the softness of her own lips. The thread tearing the wounds further. A shiver ran through her. Not being able to scream, not being able to speak or even _whisper_? Then again, she hadn't made friends with an alien army intent on world domination.

"So... is he done being all Doctor Evil, then?" she asked. "No more twirling his mustache and tying unsuspecting womenfolk to the train tracks?" Tony pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Dunno. Seems like it. I don't talk to the guy too often but from what I've seen, he's put a lid on whatever crazy he had before. He's been pretty helpful when he stops by my lab. Not like Thor at all. Loki actually seems to be more tech savvy than most of the peons who work downstairs. I know I've seen Jane and him get their nerdgasm on a couple of times talking shop, he's even given _me_ a few new ideas.

Darcy hummed in response. Some of her lingering nerves were settling down, put at ease by Tony's reply. She knew the fact that Loki was actually allowed in his lab on occasion meant volumes more than the words he was speaking.

"Any reason why you're asking?" He raised an eyebrow.

"No, not really. I've just- for as often as Thor talks about him and as often as I see Thor, I don't really see Loki. It's just sort of been on my mind lately." The lie rolled smoothly off her tongue, much to her own shock. Tony's smirked a bit.

"So the fact that he looks like he stepped off the cover of GQ has nothing to do with your curiosity?"

"Oh, well of course," Darcy grinned back, "have you seen his cheekbones? Dude needs to have those classified as lethal weapons, they're so sharp." She waggled her eyebrows at Tony, lifted up the notebook said her thanks and headed back to the elevator.

The ride down was immensely slower, stopping nearly every other floor to facilitate other passengers. By the time she finally arrived in the lab, she was ready to go on a little rampage of her own. Jane saw her and raised her eyebrows.

"Ugh. Don't ask," Darcy said, handing her the notebook as she breezed by Jane on the way to her own desk. She flipped through a stack of papers, trying to figure out where she had left off what, by now, felt like a lifetime ago. Had she really only been gone half an hour? Darcy shook her head as if physically trying to shake out her thoughts about Loki so she could focus on the work in front of her.

But she couldn't help it. She wanted to know more about him. He was the mysterious bad boy: the kind of guy that she'd always been logical enough to stay away from. Multiplied exponentially. Instead of tattoos and piercings and leather jackets there was world domination and mind control and... okay, the leather thing seemed to work across the board. But Loki wasn't just some post-adolescent trying to act tough. No, he was a centuries old God with issues. Whatever bad boy exterior he presented was likely there for good reason, Darcy thought.

Darcy thought over their encounters again, now that her nerves had been somewhat placated by Tony. She knew that, despite Tony's own questionable past, he was an excellent judge of character. He might pester and annoy the people in charge, mainly Steve and Fury, but she could see in his eyes that he did respect both of them. He would shoot barbs that were nothing more than skin deep irritations when she knew he had enough intel on everyone and could go in for the kill at any moment. The fact that he had remained silent on Loki's past transgressions and only spoken positive words about him made Darcy more at ease.

Loki's face had almost seemed to border on amusement during her intrusion into his room. Sure, he didn't actually say anything to her, but she also never really gave him a chance, her own mouth running like it so often did. When her mouth had stopped running her legs had taken over, getting her out of the room as soon as Loki had stepped aside. Afterwards when he paid his own surprise visit to her room... if she didn't know any better she could almost think of it as a prank of sorts. He certainly hadn't seemed to put any effort into being menacing until she lost her temper with him. Darcy was still of the opinion that it was entirely wrong of him to let himself into her bedroom without permission, of course, but at the same time maybe it really was Loki's way of introducing himself in a strange, socially crippled, mischievous kind of way. But he had seemed almost curious about her, remembering the way his eyes took in everything in her room, like he was soaking in information.

"Huh," Darcy said out loud, sitting back in her chair. Why would Loki be curious about _her_?

"What did you say, Darce?" The intern jumped a little, still amazed that she had yet to have a heart attack, as Jane's voice piped up from behind one of Tony's replacement machines. Strangely, even though it had been in pristine, shining condition when it arrived, it was now covered in an array of dents and smudges from god knows what. Tony wouldn't be too pleased with that.

"Oh... um, nothing. Just thinking out loud, apparently." Darcy considered for a moment, "Hey, Jane?"

"Yep?"

"Does Thor ever talk about Loki?" She heard Jane snort from behind the apparatus.

"You've got to be kidding me. You've _met_ Thor, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I mean does Thor ever talk about what happened, you know, before?"

"Before what?" Darcy sighed, hoping Jane wouldn't think the next question would warrant further inspection.

"Before they came back to earth, I guess." Jane's head popped up from behind the machine and fixed her gaze on Darcy inquisitively.

"He... he's been unusually quiet about that actually. He doesn't bring it up, and if I mention anything about it he just kind of shuts down for a little while. It's weird. For Thor, that is. But he's just been so happy since they got here. He's so glad to have his brother back, I don't want to push too hard for anything. When he's ready to tell me, he will." Jane shrugged and then bent down again, her voice floating up for where she worked, "Any particular reason why you want to know?"

Darcy debated on how much to tell Jane. Nothing had really happened between her and Loki, so why was she so hesitant to tell anyone that she was merely interested in getting to know more about him? She felt like she was back in high school trying to get more information on the hot new kid without letting anyone in on her secret crush. But she _definitely_ didn't have a crush on Loki. Even with those amazing cheekbones, gorgeous green eyes, that tall, lithe body- and she was going to stop that particular train of thought before it went into dangerous territory. Jane had asked her a question, she remembered. She needed to answer that.

"No specific reason. Just sort of curious... I kind of ran into him at Tony's party."

"Tony's party? I don't remember seeing him there." Jane's voice was slightly muffled, like she was holding something with her teeth.

"Yeah... he wasn't at the actual party but I accidentally wandered into his room."

"You _accidentally_ wandered into the man's bedroom?" The amusement was clear in Jane's voice.

"Yes. Accidentally. No one was in there! The TV was left on, I was just going to turn it off until he scared the crap out of me!" Darcy's face flushed slightly with indignation, "How was I supposed to know it was _Loki's_ bedroom? The place looked like a vacant hotel room!" Jane's head popped up once more.

"Scared you? He didn't... hurt you or anything, did he?" Her face shifted from amusement to concern.

"No, no. Nothing like that. He didn't even speak, he just surprised me that's all." Darcy pointedly did not mention Loki's later and slightly more frightening intrusion into her own room. Jane nodded and her expression shifted again, this time she clearly looked like she didn't want to say whatever it was she was about to.

"Actually," she paused, "speaking of Loki. And Thor. I wanted to run something by you."

"Yeah? What's that?" Darcy quirked an eyebrow and tried to ignore the feeling of impending doom that had settled in her core.

"Well, Thor and I have been talking-"

"You guys actually let each other breathe long enough to talk? Color me shocked!"

"We have been _talking_," Jane continued, ignoring Darcy's interruption, "and Thor asked me for a favor- don't you dare turn that into something it's not, you're just as bad as Tony- and it's going to affect you quite a bit."

"Just get on with it already. I'm sure whatever it is, it's doable."

"Well... it's Loki," she paused, "Thor says he's not really happy staying here in Stark Tower. I think he was grumbling something about privacy. And he's right, too. How could you get any privacy living in a place like this? It's a madhouse. _Especially_ in Tony's penthouse." Jane took a breath, steeling herself, "So Thor was wondering if it would be alright if they stayed with us for the time being?"

"So you want to know if it's alright if the Norse Gods of Thunder and Mischief move in with you, a genius astrophysicist, and your college intern?"

"You're my friend, Darcy, not just my intern. But, essentially, yes that's what I'm asking."

"Remind me when my life turned into a sitcom?"

"I would assume around the same time you decided to tase the aforementioned God of Thunder.

"Good times," Darcy smiled proudly and swiveled back and forth a bit in her chair. "You do know we only have 3 bedrooms, right?"

"I am aware."

"So, is this just an excuse to shack up with your totally fuckable God of a boyfriend?" Jane flushed slightly at her comment but didn't shy away like Darcy expected. Instead she held her head high.

"Not an excuse but it's certainly a silver lining." Darcy barked out a laugh and shook her head.

"Wow. Being with Thor has done wonders for you." Nodding her approval, Darcy realized that this was precisely why she couldn't say no to Jane.

"Yeah, yeah. Let them move in. Just know I'm blaming you if I get turned into a frog." She could worry about the implications of Loki in her home, her comfort zone, later. For now she was just glad to see Jane happy. She truly did work too hard and the only time Darcy saw her let loose was around Thor. Him moving in with them would hopefully make her relax a bit more.

"Of course, I'm going to have to see if Loki has some sort of nifty hocus pocus crap to soundproof your room. I might be cheering you on in spirit but that doesn't mean I want to hear any of it." Jane rolled her eyes as Darcy swiveled back to face her computer, intent on getting something productive done that day.

"Thanks, Darcy. I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Darcy just waved a hand behind her and grinned to herself in response.

* * *

A little after nine that night, she was finally heading home. Normal working hours had never been Jane's thing, despite how hard Darcy tried to change that. The machine Jane had been tinkering with earlier in the day had, somehow, managed to set itself on fire around eight. After the fire was under control Jane finally relented and let Darcy leave. She was now riding the elevator up to their apartment marinating in the stench of smoke and motor oil, black smudges adorning her hands, face and clothing.

She made her way into her apartment, shuffling her feet with exhaustion. Groaning when she entered her room, Darcy wanted nothing more than to just drop onto her bed and pass out for the next 12 hours. Only the thought of ruining her bedding with whatever she was currently covered in stopped her. She kicked her shoes into the corner of the room, grateful that they were still salvageable. Her shirt, not as fortunate, ended up in the trashcan.

Darcy was just about to slide out of her ruined tank top, her hands gripping the hem, when a slight breeze ruffled through her hair. The hair on the back of her neck stood up when she looked at the window and saw it was closed. The sudden unease she felt caused her body to stiffen and she slowly released the grip on her shirt and let it fall back into place.

"Oh, please. Don't stop on my account." The smooth voice raised goosebumps on her exposed skin.

Darcy was proud of herself this time. She managed not to jump at his sudden appearance and her heart appeared to be in proper working order. As she paused to consider what to do next, the shine from an object laying on her pillow caught her eye. She snatched up her iPod and turned it over in her hand, checking for damage.

"I assure you it is exactly how you left it."

"I don't remember 'leaving it' anywhere," she huffed, "I _do_ remember you stealing it out of my pocket." She turned around to face him and was taken slightly off kilter by his appearance. Once again he was sprawled out in her chair but this time his leather and metal garb was gone. Tonight he opted for black slacks and a black dress shirt, the first couple of buttons undone showing a sliver of his smooth, pale chest.

"Semantics." He grinned at her.

"Can I ask why you decided it would be worth your divine time to steal my iPod?" Darcy crossed her arms in front of her.

"You most certainly could." A smirk, this time.

"Talking to you is exhausting, do you know that?"

"Why, Ms. Lewis, you wound me." He pressed his hand over his heart in mock pain.

"Alright, I'll bite. Why did you steal my iPod and nearly take my head off with it?" Darcy took a step towards him.

"Curiosity."

"Curiosity?"

"That _is_ what I said, is it not?"

"Look, I really don't want to sit here playing twenty questions with you right now," Darcy sighed and rubbed her eyes, "I'm exhausted. If you're not going to give me a straight answer I'm sure you can see that I'm in desperate need of a shower and I just want to go to sleep."

Loki leaned forward in the chair settling his elbows on his knees as he appraised her, his eyes traveling up and down her body. He tilted his head and made a small motion with his hand. Then he gestured for Darcy to look down. She gasped when she saw her clothes and skin free of the dirt and grime she had been covered in. Her hair even smelled of her favorite shampoo. She sank down on the corner of the bed.

"You know, I should probably feel violated or something but I'm honestly too tired to care."

"I will choose to take that as gratitude," he inclined his head towards her, "You are most welcome."

"Thank you," she said, refraining from rolling her eyes again, "so what exactly was it you were curious about?"

"I simply wondered what it was that could hold your attention so greatly."

"You could have just asked, you know."

"Ah, yes. But then I would have missed out on the expression on your face. It was extremely pleasing." Said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Darcy narrowed her eyes, reminded starkly of a little boy in kindergarten who used to pick on her constantly. When she had gone home and complained, her mother had taken her aside and told her that boys were silly creatures and he was only teasing her because he had a crush on her. Darcy had scrunched her nose up and said, "Ew," and wandered away to play with her toys.

"And did you satisfy your curiosity?"

"Indeed."

Darcy didn't know where to go from there. He could have just left the iPod and vanished. Why was he still here talking to her? She stared at him, trying to read his expression. A lock of black hair fell on his forehead as she watched and her hand itched to reach out and see if it was as silky as it looked. She let her eyes travel down his body, taking in his sharp jawline, the smooth column of his neck and then taking note of just how long his limbs were. His body practically dwarfed her chair. Darcy realized her gaze must have lingered a bit too long when she heard him clear his throat. Loki cocked an eyebrow at her, looking bemused as heat flooded her face. He stood up, taking another look around her room before his eyes landed back on her.

"Thor has informed me of our impending living arrangements. I was told to 'behave myself.'" His eyes were glittering with silent laughter. "As if I _ever _behave myself."

"Dude, all I ask is that you don't turn me into an inanimate object if I forget to buy the milk." She stared up at him, still seated on her bed, "But speaking of magic, think you can perform some of your voodoo crap on Jane's room when you guys move in? I'm all about extra-curricular activities but I don't want to feel like I can hear a porno being filmed in the next room."

Loki look confused for a split second before recognition dawned on his face and he nodded solemnly.

"Ah. Yes. That _would_ be most prudent. I'm sure I can find something suitable," Darcy yawned as he spoke and he looked her over once more.

"I will take my leave of you now," he paused with a conflicted look settling on his face, "and... thank you. For sharing your home."

"No prob, Bob. Just don't open up any portals or let in any monsters and I'm sure we'll get along just fine." She noticed Loki stiffen for a moment before she continued. "But that still doesn't mean you have permission to pop into my bedroom any time you want. We need to work on that bit."

Loki just smirked again, inclined his head to her, and was promptly gone without a sound. Darcy flopped back onto her bed, sprawling and stretching her limbs. She dropped her iPod back onto her pillow and smiled to herself. She was asleep within minutes.


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: You guys are seriously amazing. Thank you for reading, special thanks to those of you who leave reviews.. I never expected any kind of response to this story so to see such an overwhelmingly positive one is just.. you can't wipe the grin off my face! And I apologize if I didn't respond to your review... ff makes it so hard to keep track of which you've responded to but I *think* I got you all.**

**Also, if you're interested I created a floor plan to Darcy/Jane's apartment (I had my reasons!) and you can find the link to that in my profile here. :)**

CHAPTER THREE

The next week had gone by in the typical manner. Darcy went to work and ended up staying way too late for her preference. She came home, had dinner with Jane when she wasn't staying at the tower with Thor and then promptly crashed. Lather, rinse, repeat: the one bright side being that, even though they didn't keep normal workings hours, it didn't stop them from keeping normal working days. Darcy lived for her weekends, her real talent laying in her ability to sleep in on Saturdays, completely dead to the world until she felt ready to face it.

That week she knew, of course, that she should be thinking about the fact that Thor and Loki would be moving in with them at some point in the near future. She should have been mentally preparing herself for their intrusion after becoming so accustom to it being just her and Jane. Or just her, since Jane had started spending nearly half of any given week with Thor. Whenever the thought came to the forefront of her mind, however, she squashed it back further with a note to think about it at a more appropriate time. The more 'appropriate' time never seemed to come.

Figuring that she'd have a bit of warning, that they would need some time and help to pack and move, Darcy went about her business as usual. So on Saturday afternoon, when she managed to part with her bed and trudge into the kitchen in search of caffeine, she was woefully unprepared for the scene she was greeted with. Thor, Loki, and their respective six foot plus masses of muscle and ego were busy making the normally large room seem strikingly small, sitting calmly at the kitchen table. The visual of two Gods sitting at the kitschy formica table she had pilfered from the pile of furniture on the curb her last day living in the dorms caused her brain to come to a screeching halt. Having entered the room midway through a yawn, it promptly died in her throat leaving her mouth still gaping while the gears shifted and strained in her head.

The two brothers sitting in stark opposition of one another, one dark and wiry, the other fair and substantial, turned their heads in perfect synchronization, mirroring each other in their movement if not in their appearance. For a very brief span of time a three way staring contest ensued. Thor grinned brightly at her, not caring he was in the middle of chewing his food. Loki did a once over, eyes sliding from toe to head in a way that made Darcy feel exposed, and then simply stared at her with a perfectly arched eyebrow and a slight lift to the corner of his mouth. Darcy stood there, waiting for her brain to complete it's reboot, unable to command her body to do anything besides shift her eyes from one face to another.

After a span of about six seconds, which seemed to last infinitely longer to Darcy, her brain finally- oh, dear god _finally_- caught up with the scene in front of her. Her mouth snapped shut, she did an about face and stalked quickly back to her bedroom. Of course, on the return journey through the living room she noticed a few things she had missed before. Like Thor's hammer- how on earth had she missed _that_- sitting on the floor next to the couch or Thor's favorite red hooded sweatshirt slung of the back of said couch. Now that she was consciously looking, there were many signs of Thor's arrival already strewn about the apartment. How had she slept through that? How did they manage to not only move but unpack so quickly and without waking Darcy? Thor's voice alone had the quality of being heard through walls even when he was doing his best efforts to stay quiet. She couldn't fathom how he and Loki- Oh. Loki. _Of course_ Loki could just poof all of their belongings over in one fell swoop. He had no problems poof-ing himself into Darcy's room and she knew that he was touted to be an extremely powerful sorcerer.

She sighed as she entered her bedroom once more, closing the door behind her quietly and resting her back against it. She was not ready for this at all. Jane should have warned her that they were coming. Darcy glanced down and groaned, this was exactly why Jane should have warned her. She had just flounced in on them wearing an oversized Iron Man shirt- hey, Tony had had_ boxes _of them laying around the labs one day- and no pants. She thanked her lucky stars that the shirt was long enough to cover all of her more provocative bits as she banged the back of her head against the door. She pressed her hands to her face as she stood there for a moment, her life readjusting around her.

Standing up straight she figured that what's done was done and all she could do now was try to be welcoming to their new house guests. First things first, though. She needed to put on pants.

* * *

Approximately fifteen minutes later Darcy opened the door to her room, completely dressed and officially ready to face the day. The sounds of conversation drifting in from the kitchen, Thor's laughter mingling with Jane's soft voice, made Darcy smile. Her eyes swept through the living room once again, Thor's presence so obvious that it made her wonder about Loki and how none of the new items the space had acquired seem befitting of him. Maybe Thor was just messy. Darcy had a feeling she would be learning way more about the both of them in the near future than she had ever wanted to know.

She entered the kitchen once again, greeted by the smell of coffee and, noting Loki's absence, Jane sitting in the chair he had previously occupied. Thor smiled at her.

"Darcy! How are you faring this afternoon?" She grinned back at him, unable to help herself. Both his laughter and his smile were contagious.

"Better now that I'm presentable," she shot a look at Jane, "and wearing pants." She grabbed a mug from the cupboard and poured herself some coffee before taking the open seat next to Thor.

"I'm really sorry, Darcy," Jane reached over to pat the back of Darcy's hand, "we didn't really plan on this, though. There was a little incident late last night." Darcy's reaction to this was a brief flare of panic and concern until she saw Jane roll her eyes and smile at Thor who simply shook his head.

"It seems that Tony Stark and my brother are quite similar in disposition." He smiled. Darcy thought about that for a moment. She could definitely see it. Egotistical? Check. Qualifications to back up the egos? Check. Major Daddy issues? Those two had enough of _those _to fill up a library catalogue.

"They got into an argument in Tony's lab last night about some new project that Tony's been working on. Of course they're both so pig-headed that neither would back down," Jane said as she rolled her eyes again, "after we got them separated, Loki was stomping around upstairs insisting that they leave the penthouse right away but we calmed him down enough to wait until this morning. And since we didn't need your help or anything I just figured it'd be best to let you sleep. I know how much you love your Saturdays." Darcy nodded, unable to stay upset for too long. She had agreed to them living there, after all.

"So, speaking of, where is your shadow?" Darcy asked.

Thor's face darkened a bit, the particular expression that cropped up looked misplaced and just plain wrong on someone normally so cheerful.

"I would take care, Darcy, that you do not call him such in his presence. He is not as pleased with the situation as I am, though he has taken to it considerably more affably than I thought he would." Darcy raised her eyebrows at this and simply nodded. She'd already trodden on a couple of exposed nerves and didn't feel the urge to do so again.

She let herself sink back into the chair a little more as she sipped her coffee. Alright, so this wasn't the ideal situation. She thought she would've been able to prepare herself mentally for dealing with the two brothers on a daily bases but maybe this was better. No doubt she would have spent any 'warning' time over thinking everything, getting nervous and just giving herself a headache. This was a surprise certainly but at least it was over and done with now and she could deal with whatever consequences it wrought. As Darcy continued to burrow further into her own head, she slowly became aware of Jane and Thor staring at her, expectantly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"We were wondering what you were doing tonight," Jane asked.

Darcy thought for a moment, the only solid plans she had for the day was to spend the day out in the world, maybe shop a little or see a movie. She felt like her life revolved around Jane's lab and their apartment, and she was itching to break free for a little while.

"I'll probably be out running errands or something most of the afternoon, but I'm free as a bird tonight. Why? What's up?"

"Wonderful! Then you will be able to accompany us to celebrate!" Darcy blinked at Thor.

"Wait. What are we celebrating? Ohmygod," her head swiveled to look at the scientist straight on, "Jane, are you pregnant? Do I hear the pitter patter of little feet wielding Fisher-Price hammers?" Jane sputtered into her drink a second before shaking her head violently. She coughed a few times before managing a response.

"Jesus, Darcy. No. Thor just wants us all to go out tonight to get to know each other a little better."

"Us all? Get to know each other better? Jane, I've known you for a couple of years and I've known Thor just as long as you have... maybe not intimately but that's only because you got there first." She threw a wink at Thor, who was used to her antics and just smiled in response, before turning her eyes back to Jane who looked a little more solemn.

"Yes, the _three_ of us know each other pretty well." Jane said and the statement made a light bulb click on over Darcy's head.

"Oh."

"I do not wish for my brother to spend his days hiding in his room like he so often did before. I have hope that if he gets to know you and my dearest Jane he will not be so inclined. I worry for him spending so much time with only his own thoughts for company." Thor's voice was possibly as quiet as she had ever heard before. He looked at Darcy, completely earnest and pleading.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tonight should be fine. Just let me know when and where and I'll be there." Thor grinned at her again, all trace of negative emotion completely gone.

"Thank you, Darcy. I hope this will be most beneficial to all of us!" He grabbed his mug of coffee and for a brief moment Darcy had a flair of panic and nearly braced herself for flying ceramic before he simply brought it up to his lips and took a drink, still smiling. She shook her head, laughing.

"Don't worry about it Thor, I'm sure it'll be just great."

* * *

After she had grabbed something to eat and the caffeine had finally taken hold, Darcy spent her afternoon doing her best to contribute to the general congestion of New York City. She found herself window shopping, aimlessly wandering around the bustling streets. For lunch she stopped into a little bistro, indulging on rich foods and more coffee while enjoying the calm that surrounded her. A couple of hours after she had left the apartment she found herself meandering about in the aisles of a department store when something caught her eye.

"No way." She whispered, letting out a small chuckle as she went for a closer look.

Men's ties were lined up for display on a table, a few in familiar shades of red and gold. She grinned brightly, thinking that they really did go overboard with marketing these days. She wasn't aware of all the details but she knew that Tony, or Stark Industries, had some control over the profits from officially licensed merchandise. Her fingers ran along the silky ties as she contemplated where exactly these profits would go. There weren't just Iron Man ties, either. They had a few very classy options for Captain America and Thor as well and her smile grew even more when she spotted one in a muted green and purple.

"A bit ostentatious, are they not?" The voice caused Darcy's breath to hitch in her throat but otherwise she managed to keep herself collected. She turned to address the ubiquitous god.

"Can I help you?" She raised an eyebrow and he smirked in response.

"Are you employed here also?" His eyes widened innocently, "I would think SHIELD should compensate it's people well enough to make such things unnecessary."

"Oh, you just think you're _so_ funny, don't you?" It was unfair how easily the man maintained his look of innocence. Really, if she didn't know better, she'd probably apologize for being snippy with him.

"I have been known to find humor in some situations."

"So are you stalking me or something?"

"No, Miss Lewis. My time is valuable. Wasting it by following you around doesn't seem very practical now, does it?" The implied 'duh' was clear in his tone.

"Oh. I see. So... you were just looking to buy yourself a new tie, then?" She grabbed the deep red one, printed with a blue arc reactor on the wide end, and calculated the probability of losing a limb. Deciding it was worth it, she held the tie up to his chest, against the dark green button up he currently wore.

"No, this one clashes just _horribly,_" she tsked at him, "let's try a different one." She started to pull her arm back but his hand struck out and grabbed her wrist- at least the fact that she was buddy-buddy with Tony Stark should ensure the she'd get a pretty sweet prosthetic. It took her a moment to realize that his hold on her was gentle and surprisingly warm and, wow, was his hand large around her small wrist, his fingers easily wrapping all the way around. She looked up and saw a flicker of surprise pass over his face but his grip remained.

"I assume that was _your _attempt at humor?" He asked with a look Darcy could only classify as 'Bitch, please.' He lowered her arm, still holding onto her wrist. The warmth of his hand created a pinpoint of focus and for a moment Darcy had trouble remembering what it was they were discussing.

"Well, clearly your funny bone was broken or something because I am a riot, I'll have you know." She said after a few seconds, jutting her chin out as she looked up at him. He looked thoughtful for a moment before responding.

"I assure you everything about me is in more than satisfactory condition." His delivery was lower and his voice had gone impossibly smooth, but the expression on his face gave nothing away.

"Ah. I see. Well that's- that's good. For you. Good for you, I mean," she cleared her throat. "So are you going to tell me why you're here? Otherwise you're going to have to deal with more of my 'attempts at humor' and I'm sure you don't want that."

"I was simply sent to relay a message."

"You know these things would be much quicker if you'd just tell me what's up instead of making me pry it out of you," she said rolling her eyes at him. "What's the message?" And why was he still holding her wrist? The thought of what those large hands would be capable of was making her brain slow down and dealing with Loki was hard enough when it was at full capacity. She blamed the sudden sluggishness in her mind for why she didn't try to pull her arm away.

"My brother and Jane wished me to inform you that our... dinner tonight will be at nine. A place called Tenpenny?" He said the word as if it didn't quite fit his mouth.

"Alright, then," she paused, "but why didn't they just call me? Hell, why not just text? Press a few buttons instead of sending you halfway across Midtown to track me down?" There was some irony there in the fact that Loki's presence certainly ended up pressing a few buttons anyway.

"It was no inconvenience," he waved his free hand, "I do feel as if they were hoping to get rid of me for awhile. They just happened to catch me in a well-enough mood to comply."

"Oh," Then the realization of why Thor and Jane would want to get rid of him sunk in, "_Oh_. Well.. that's just wrong. I don't- that's just _wrong_. Thanks for the mental image," she cringed.

"It was my pleasure," he grinned at her, "I think I have been away just long enough to make a most inconvenient return... of course, that's only if you are quite done attempting to charm me with your scintillating wit." She glared at him.

"Yes, I'm done. You'll have to give me my arm back first, though." Loki looked down and she saw the surprise flicker across his face before he dropped her arm like he had been burned.

"Have a good afternoon, Miss Lewis." He was gone before Darcy had a chance to reply.

* * *

Darcy managed to make her way back to the apartment shortly after eight thirty. She had continued to spend the rest of the day shopping, managing to pick up a beautiful black silk dress that she was likely never to have occasion to wear, but unable to resist and figuring herself in need of a little 'treat' she had purchased it anyway. She barged in the darkened apartment, bags rustling and hitting the door frame as she struggled through. She was running late and still needed to change and somehow find a way to get there in under half an hour.

Tossing all the bags on her bed, she rushed around her room shedding her clothes, her feet catching in her jeans when she forgot to take off her shoes beforehand and nearly doing a face plant before catching herself on the bed.

"Smooth, Darcy. Real smooth." She shook her head, untangled herself from the traitor denim and went to look for something a little nicer than the overlarge sweater she had worn most of the day. Settling on black slacks with some muted gold heels and a nice bottle-green button-up, she fixed her hair and saw that it was already a little past nine. She swore to herself and threw open her door to find her purse, instead finding herself running smack dab into a hard and all too familiar chest.

"Mmph." Hands came down on her shoulders, steadying her before she over-corrected herself and tipped too far in the other direction. She managed to peek up, the light from the windows illuminating his face, "Well at least this time you weren't actually inside my bedroom. It's an improvement, at least." The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, his eyes giving way a hint of devilry and she remembered that the majority of the time she had just spent in her bedroom was in her underwear. Her eyes narrowed slightly. He released her shoulders and took a step back, appraising her. Amusement flickered across his face and she suddenly felt self-conscious.

"What? Is there a stain on my shirt or something?" Her hands smoothed down the green fabric, frantically looking for spots. He chuckled lightly.

"No, not at all. I was merely thinking that you look... fair when you aren't wearing that brown monstrosity."

"Hey-," she was about to complain about the insult to her favorite sweater when the fact that he had actually complimented her registered. "Oh. Thanks." He nodded shortly at her.

"Shouldn't you be with Thor and Jane? It's after nine and I know I'm running late but there was this dress I couldn't resist and then my clothes attacked me and it's just been a whole... thing." She waved her hand around as if it would give her excuse more validity.

"I was. I have come to collect you."

"Collect me?"

"I tire of waiting while my brother makes insipid attempts at conversation. The sooner you are to arrive, the sooner the night can end."

"I see. So... what? You're just going to poof us into the restaurant? Is that a bright idea? I'm not too sure how much people would appreciate us just appearing out of thin air."

"No one will notice unless I wish for them to notice. You forget to whom it is you're speaking."

"Right, right," she nodded. "Uh. Let's go then, I guess. What do I need to do here? Piggy-back ride? You going to carry me bridal style or something?" She thought for a moment and cringed, "is it going to hurt? If it's going to hurt I'd rather just walk. I'm really not one for pain, I've got a really low toler-" she cut herself off when she saw the impatient look on his face.

"It have been informed it is not painful, merely slightly uncomfortable. As a mortal it would be best if you held your breath." He looked at her expectantly as she inhaled and held her breath, cheeks puffed out like a little girl. He took hold of her left arm and before she knew it she was sucked into a vacuum and everything went black.

Her vision came back with startling clarity. Colors flashing brightly and more vividly than she thought possible. The wind whipped around her like a tornado but her fear of falling was stayed by the sensation of Loki's hand on her arm. He was barely gripping her but at the moment she felt like her entire life was anchored down by that touch and she felt, she _knew_, that their connection would remain unbroken until Loki broke it himself. It was over quickly, however. She had only but a brief moment to lament the fact that her hair would likely be a rats nest before everything went black again. This time when her vision came back it was accompanied by the din of people talking and silverware clattering against ceramic dishes. It was like turning the radio on, not realizing it had been left on the highest volume setting. She cringed as the sounds roared in her ears, giving her a slight case of vertigo before someone finally adjusted the volume knob and it petered out to a normal level.

She stumbled sideways slightly, Loki's other hand reaching out to her to keep her steady as she let out the breath she had been holding.

"Whoa." She looked around and saw that they were standing right inside the entryway and yet no one seemed to have looked twice at their rather unusual entrance. She shook her head and blinked slowly a few times before she felt stable enough to take a step back. Loki let his hands drop to his sides.

"That was.. pretty cool actually," she nodded slowly, "so does it take the same amount of time no matter where you go? Like, if you were to poof yourself from here to Asgard would it take longer?" He looked at her curiously, like he couldn't believe someone would actually want to know about his particular way of travel.

"Slightly longer, yes, but ultimately negligible."

"Huh. Neat." She smiled at him until another thought passed through her mind, "Oh, shit!" Her hands shot up to her hair, checking out the damage the space tornado had done- and found it exactly as it had been in her apartment.

"You arrive in the same condition as you were when you left," Loki provided, noticing Darcy's confusion.

"Wow. Just... wow. Can I hire you? I mean, I wouldn't be able to pay you much but man that would be amazing. I could sleep in so much later if I had you around just to poof," she made a fist and then spread her fingers in the air, "me everywhere." The look Loki gave her very clearly indicated he was tired of this particular line of thought and Darcy was sure she was only saved a scathing retort by Thor's voice calling their attention.

"Brother! Darcy!" Their heads turned in unison to where Thor was sitting, dressed very un-Thor like in black dress pants, a deep crimson shirt and a very well tailored vest. Darcy's eyebrows shot up to her forehead and she walked over to the table.

"Wow," she gave a low whistle. "Looking good, Thor! Who got their mitts on you? I know that's not Jane's doing, I don't think she even knows what _she's_ wearing half the time." Thor grinned at her and his eyes flickered over to Loki briefly. "Speaking of, where is our little star-gazer?"

"Right here!" Jane said sliding into the seat next to Thor. Darcy took the seat next to her at the round table, sitting across from Thor and forcing Loki to sit next to him. She noted Jane had cleaned up rather nicely for the night as well, wearing black leggings with a long sweater matching the color of Thor's shirt. Sometimes they were absolutely gag-worthy, Darcy thought.

"Man, we are one good looking group tonight," Darcy said, grabbing up a menu, "who knew we had it in us?" Jane laughed.

"For that, you must thank Loki! He's much more adept at... fitting in than I." Thor's expression could hardly be more proud if he tried. Darcy turned to look at the brother in question, noticing what he was wearing for the first time. He was dressed similarly to Thor but in all black save for the dark green silk back of the vest he wore. Darcy nodded approvingly.

"You've got all sorts of skills, huh?" Loki looked up from his own menu and considered her for a moment.

"I have been informed that I am _exceedingly_ talented at anything I find worth my time." His expression was innocent but the look in his eyes definitely wasn't. Darcy found herself having a hard time looking away until Jane cleared her throat delicately. Darcy let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding.

"Right, well," she sucked in another breath, "what's good in this place?" She promptly buried her head in the menu.

The night was surprisingly not as uncomfortable as it could have been. Conversation flowed freely between Thor, Jane, and Darcy. Even more so after the wine was poured. Loki pitched in comments every once in awhile and answered questions when asked directly. Outside of that he stayed to himself, never impolite but simply disengaged.

When their food arrived the conversation almost died down completely. Thor was surprisingly well-mannered, having come a long way from smashing coffee mugs and shoveling food into his mouth with reckless abandon. Well, he still did the second bit, but he managed to save it for when they weren't in polite company at least. Loki seemed to have a healthy appetite as well but he, as always, remained much more graceful than Thor could ever hope to be. Jane's hand rested on the table and when Thor covered it with his own and smiled with all his heart at her, Darcy rolled her eyes and caught Loki smirking at her from the corner of her eye. She returned the expression.

It was about halfway through the meal when Darcy started noticing some of the people around them quieting down slightly. Trying not to be obvious she glanced around and saw how people were staring at them. How they were staring at Loki. Their hands covering whispered thoughts to one another, confused eyebrows joining together, obviously aware of who the man looked like but unwilling to believe it. Why would Loki, the man who had previously tried to tear this very city down, be sitting quietly in the middle of this restaurant enjoying -or rather, not hating- a meal with what looked to be friends? Darcy looked down at his hand having formed a fist on the table. The lines of his knuckles shocking and dark against the white skin from how tightly he must be clenching it. Were it not for that one thing, however, she never would've guessed Loki was uncomfortable or even aware that people were starting to take notice of his presence.

When the meal was winding down and Darcy started to become more concerned about the state of Loki's hand, she decided to take some sort of action.

"I'm going to get something from the bar. You guys want anything? My treat!" She stood up and grabbed her purse. When both Jane and Thor asked her to bring something back with her she looked over at Loki who was clearly zoning out in his own little world this time.

"Hey. You with the magic fingers," she _really_ should've thought that particular phrase through before speaking it. "I can't carry everything by myself, come help so I don't have to tear the lovebirds apart." She jerked her head towards the couple in question, Thor running his fingers lightly down the side of Jane's face who smiled in a way that made even Darcy's heart give a little squeeze. Surprising her by not making a snide remark or refusing to be reduced to a waiter, Loki stood up swiftly and followed her to the bar. She hopped up on a stool, noting that they were the only two currently up there, bartender nowhere in sight.

"You okay?" She asked and Loki's eyes snapped up to hers in surprise.

"I am fine," he responded slowly, eyes slightly narrowed.

"And I... I think you're lying." She responded. Loki gave her a long look and she rolled her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. God of Lies. Whatever. I noticed the attention you're getting," she jerked her thumb to the rest of the patrons, "I'm getting the feeling you don't like that very much."

His only response was to perch on the barstool next to her, hands folding together on the bar, back stiff as a board. The -only slightly- awkward silence was broken by the appearance of the bartender. She gave a sidelong look at Loki, considered for a moment, and then placed her order. As the man proceeded to make their drinks Darcy busied herself by staring at the god next to her, trying to break the shell around him with her mind.

"I believe I've heard the phrase, 'take a picture, it would last longer' being touted in response to people staring so rudely." He spoke while looking down and picking at his nails. Darcy grinned and dug around in her purse, whipping out her phone.

"Smile!" She took the picture as quickly as she could and when she saw her handiwork she laughed. Loki had failed to smile but the confused look on his face was more than compensation enough.

"Don't worry, no one will see it," she said, still chuckling to herself and tucking the phone away. "Trust me, I got reamed after they found out I put a picture of Thor up on Facebook."

"I am hardly concerned."

"See now, that? That I believe." She nodded while the bartender set up a line of six shots in front of them. She grabbed one from the end and held it up. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Loki. He simply stared at her, bored expression firmly in place.

"Just drink one, please?" she huffed. He raised an eyebrow at her but did as she asked and picked up a shot from the other end.

"Cheers!" She downed the drink, set it on the bar and did the next two in rapid succession. She saw Loki tip his own drink back gracefully, saw the long column of his throat as it bobbed up and down when he swallowed, his tongue running along his lips when he set the glass back down on the bar. She waved her hand at the remaining two and she was able to enjoy the show twice more as the combination of wine from dinner and the newly imbibed alcohol settled her brain into a comfortable haze.

"That's probably not going to do anything to you is it, huh?"

"Not likely. The alcohol on Asgard is much stronger than can be found here." He looked over at Darcy, noticing the pink flush to her cheeks and the slightly glassy look in her eyes. "Clearly I can't say the same for you."

Darcy laughed and turned in her seat so she was facing him, side against the bar with her arm laying on the surface. She looked behind him and saw people still glancing over at him, nervous enough to be aware of his location at all times but not yet nervous enough to end their nights earlier than planned.

"You kind of stick out, you know." She looked back to him as his eyes flickered over to hers before he took in their would be audience "Couldn't you, you know, cast some sort of spell or something so people wouldn't notice you like you did when we got here?"

"Yes," he nodded, "but it would both be unnecessarily tiring and Thor would not approve. The mort- the _humans_ are supposed to get used to my presence on your planet." Darcy nodded and waved at the bartender.

"You do a better job at fitting in than Thor ever did, though. It's just your face is hard to miss. And your hair."

"Thor has never cared for the art of subtlety," Darcy's snort interrupted him and he looked her over. "My... _hair_?"

"Yeah, dude. Not a lot of guys out there rockin' the Professor Snape these days." There was that damned eyebrow again. "Don't get me wrong, you can pull it off. But it's just one of those things that people are more likely to notice. I mean, if you decide to get rid of it, just don't go full Voldemort. That's just no bueno."

"You are very strange, Miss Lewis."

The bartender set two more shots down in front of them and Darcy drank hers quickly, smacking her lips and making a face when she set it back down. Loki followed suit. Though, as always, he managed to be graceful and refined about everything while Darcy just sat there staring.

"If you want," she hiccupped, "I could totally cut it for you. I used to cut my dad's. I'm pretty badass with a pair of clippers if I do say so myself."

At that point she finally gave into temptation and leaned forward, her hand came up and twining a strand of his hair through her fingers- just as silky as she thought it would be- she looked over into his eyes. They sat there for a moment, appraising each other until Darcy's weight shifted a bit too forward and the stool started to tilt. Her first reaction was to put her feet on the ground but the heels of her shoes caught on the crossbar and she was a bit too tipsy to do much about it. Forward she went, straight into Loki's chest for the second time that night. He placed his hands lightly on her arms and she felt a vibration in his chest. Was he actually laughing? It was a low and wonderful sound.

"I will consider your offer, however I think putting any sharp objects in your possession tonight would be remiss, Miss Lewis." He straightened her back out and she carefully untangled her shoes from the barstool.

"Right you are. And please, stop with the Miss Lewis shtick. We're living together now. One big happy family, yeah? I think that qualifies for a first name basis."

"Alright... Darcy." He looked on the verge of saying something more when they were interrupted.

"Darcy, did you forget your way back?" Jane said with a smirk on her face that faded into something more akin to curiosity as she observed how close the two were sitting to one another. Thor stood behind her, slightly more contemplative.

"Totally, dude. Sorry about that. I wanted to see what a few drinks would do to this guy. Not much apparently." Thor nodded in agreement.

"This is true. The alcohol on Earth is considerably weaker than that in the halls of Asgard. Many fond memories have been made through the consumption-"

"We were just going to head out in search of a coffee shop," Jane interjected before Thor could start in on any more tales of him and the Warriors Three. They'd already endured more than their share. "You interested?"

"Nah," Darcy shook her head and yawned. "You guys go. I'm just gonna head back and get some sleep. Long day of fighting gravity and whatnot." Thor was still looking at Loki, thoughtfully.

"Will you come, Brother, or will you accompany Darcy home?" Thor asked out of politeness, knowing Loki would rather not be left alone with the happy couple.

"It would be ill-conceived of me if I did not make sure she got home safely in her... condition, I would think." Thor nodded in response and stepped forward, clasping Loki's shoulder as he smiled, "Then I will see you in the morning!"

The four of them finished saying their farewells, Darcy settled her bill at the bar and she followed Loki out of the restaurant. When they got out into the cool, crisp air he turned to her and extended his hand, she held her breath as she took it and was once again pulled into the space tornado. This time when her senses came back to her on the other end, there was only the ticking of the clock and the shadows splaying across her bedroom walls. She looked up at Loki and shook her head.

"You know, you could've at least brought us back into the living room. Pretty soon I'm going to think you're pulling an Edward Cullen on me."

She walked over to her bed and sat down on the corner, planning on removing her shoes but as soon as she made contact with the padded surface she couldn't help but let herself drop completely backwards, arms out like angel wings, shutting her eyes. She sighed as she realized just how tired she was, hearing the rustling of fabric as Loki moved around.

"You are a strange being, Darcy." She could only smile half-heartedly in response, already halfway to unconsciousness but she thought she might have heard him say, in a voice so quiet she couldn't be sure it wasn't just her imagination, "I can see why it is my brother is so fond of you," before she drifted completely away.

And if, in the middle of the night, she woke up and found herself shoe-less and tucked under her covers, her head on her pillow, well... that was just something she would have to think about, wasn't it?


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: I hope some of you are still on board, here! Thanks to everyone who's left reviews! I tried to respond to all of them but due to the... unfortunate span of time between the last update and now, I'm sure a few slipped through the cracks.**

* * *

Loki opened his eyes, blinking as he took in the new sights around him. A flare of annoyance reared up in the back of his mind as he thought about what had brought him here. Not Midgard- that was something he had already spent far too long contemplating. Rather, having to share a living space with Thor's mortal and her companion just because Tony Stark needed to learn to watch his tongue. Especially when speaking to those who would find far too much pleasure in spreading his very molecules across the cosmos if given the proper motivation.

He would begrudgingly admit, however, that his most recent stay on Midgard had been far less miserable than he had been anticipating. For the most part he was allowed to do as he pleased as long as he stayed out of trouble and since what he pleased at the moment was simply being left alone with his thoughts, it was working out fairly well for all parties involved. Occasionally, when Stark wasn't being an irritating nitwit, Loki would venture into the depths of the tower and visit his lab. For, as annoying as the man might be, Loki held respect for his command of the closest thing to magic that the realm had to offer.

He sat up on the edge of the bed, scrubbing his eyes with his fingers, and thought back over the events of previous two days. It was all Stark's fault, of course. Loki did well at keeping his temper under control until one of his buttons was pushed. Of which there were many. And Stark, like a pig with a truffle, had a very nasty habit of being able to sniff them out just to press them- intentionally or not. Raw anger flared in the pit of Loki's stomach as he recalled the fight between them and the subsequent embarrassment of being talked down by Thor and his precious mortal.

Loki took a few deep breaths and spread his right hand out in front of him, focusing his energy and manifesting a bright flame in his palm. He close and opened his hand, like a nervous tic, watching the flame ignite and snuff out. At least, he thought, living here he would no longer have to put up with the insufferable staring from the SHIELD agents who seemed to crawl about Stark Tower like ants, Loki's boot just itching for an opportunity.

His new quarters were smaller than what had been provided at the tower and the fact that a Prince of Asgard could be reduced to such meager offerings would have given him reason to be indignant before, but he found himself unable to muster the emotion now. In truth he found the smaller space with its dark, warm colors comforting. He'd been plagued by nightmares, an endless void calling to him in the darkness. The feeling of falling, not knowing when he'd land. _If _he'd land. The vastness, that _emptiness_, scared him; loath he was to admit it even to himself. The close proximity of the four walls around him might have raised his hackles before, but now they provided a feeling of safety he had never expected to find outside the walls of Asgard.

The surprise he felt at that revelation was only barely usurped by the surprise he felt at his feelings for Thor's mortal friend, Darcy Lewis. Loki's mouth twitched at the temptation to sneer. Perhaps the word 'feelings' was incorrect. It was more the _lack _of feelings that surprised him-the lack of spite, the complete lack of hate he felt towards her, unlike most other inhabitants of this wretched planet.

He had seen the terror in her eyes the first night they met. It was wholly the proper response to him, he thought. The mortals he had to deal with had already become accustomed to him, the outright terror now settling into mere skittishness. When the girl had shown up in his private room of all places and he could nearly feel the fear radiating from her, it thrilled him down to his very core. He didn't realize how much he had missed that feeling and how delicious it was to be faced with it again.

Truly, his motivation that night, showing up unannounced in her room, had been to get another taste of it. Like a moth to a flame, he longed to see her blue eyes widened by fear, to hear her breathing speed up as the adrenaline rushed through her body. And while he had detected a semblance of the fear he had seen earlier in that day, he was both disappointed that she had overcome it so quickly the second time she faced him and delighted at the backbone she had displayed that night, going so far as to brandish a weapon at him. Not that it would have much effect on the god, of course.

The third time they had run into each other, Loki had noticed her complete absorbance into the small device he had seen around the tower before. He remembered Stark's long-winded rant about something to do with apples and fan boys and how Stark Tech was better in every way the day his female companion had dropped by still dripping with sweat, poking at a device that was hooked around her arm. Curiosity got the better of him when he saw Darcy's enchantment with the object and before he truly knew what he was doing, he reached out and snatched the thing from her pocket, relishing in the shock that flashed across her face before the elevator doors closed.

Over the course of the day he found himself playing with the device whenever managed to get some solitude. He listened to it, curious as to what was considered music on this realm, and was rather surprised to find that he rather enjoyed a few of the songs even if Darcy seemed to have a wide and eclectic selection.

Loki had retreated into the solace of the library after a small row with Stark and as he stalked back and forth across the floor, he found one of Darcy's songs playing in his head. It was loud song, one with a striking melody and harsh beats, and Loki found himself pulling the device out to scroll through the 'library', searching for it. He stopped in the middle of the room to listen, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, only too aware of what lashing out could mean for his sentence and punishment-his stomach rolled at the thought of going back to Asgard-and by the time the song was through he felt more in control. He opened his eyes and was shocked to see Thor standing in the doorway, perplexed.

That had been when Thor had brought up moving out of the tower and in with his mortal and her friend. Loki bristled at the idea at first, not wanting to be forced into closer quarters with Thor but, as his brother laid out his argument, Loki found himself staring at the iPod in his hand, his thumb tracing the edge of the screen. It was a curious thing, the effect it had had on him, this small piece of nothing he had stolen from a girl he was only trying to get a rise out of. His lips twitched in a small smile, wondering what it might be like being forced to share a living space with her. The look of surprise on Thor's face when he agreed without argument was something he savored the rest of the day.

That night found Loki curiously tempted to visit the girl again. Her reactions to him thus far had all been varied and intriguing and he sorely wanted to know what would happen again. A glance to the table where the iPod lay gave him all the excuse he needed. He palmed the device, vanished from the room and reappeared in Darcy's. He had planned on making himself comfortable in the armchair in the corner of the room, content to wait as long as need be just to see the look on her face when she registered his presence. She always made such pleasing expressions.

He didn't know that he'd be in for another treat when he arrived, sitting in the chair and flicking his wrist to send the iPod to her pillow, in that Darcy was already midway through stripping off her clothes. He grinned at the sight, a ripple of pleasure curling in his belly, and debated letting her continue on until she stood straight, suddenly alert. His choice made for him, he announced his presence, and while her reaction may not have been as violent as the previous meetings, he found himself altogether enjoying their back and forth. At the very least he knew that the decision to live there with Thor would prove to be interesting, if nothing else.

It hadn't taken long after that for Stark to step on his toes again and even Loki, were honest with himself, could not say what set the argument off. Only that Stark had started it and it had simply spiraled out of control, a clump of snow falling off a branch at the top of the mountain turning into an avalanche that demolished everything in it's wake. The moment Thor had put his hands on Loki's shoulder, either in warning or to prepare himself to hold his younger brother back from striking out, the decision had been made in Loki's mind. They were going to leave the tower that night, even if it meant Loki would spend the majority of the next day recuperating from the magic he'd have to expend to do so. The sight of Darcy the next morning completely and utterly confused and nearly nude from the waist down had been worth it.

The prior evening's dinner as a group had also proven to be slightly enjoyable. He had been amused at Darcy's antics once the alcohol had taken effect. And her wonder and curiosity at his magic certainly stroked his ego some; still so used to the scorn he received on Asgard. His body certainly hadn't objected the feeling of hers pressed up against his chest when she lost her balance and the absurdity of the entire situation, the surrealness of it all, made Loki laugh for the first time in a very long while. There was something about Darcy, though he had relished in her fear and surprise at first, in that he now found himself oddly attracted to spending time near her. The easy way she seemed to slip into bantering with him was something he had to admit he found pleasing. It was refreshing after dealing with his brother's ministrations and the careful avoidance of the people in the tower, save for Stark who seemed to have no qualms with needling him, to meet someone who simply let him be.

He extinguished the flame that had been steadily growing brighter in his hand and finally stood up. He hadn't yet heard any movement or activity out in the living area but he knew it wouldn't be long before Thor, being his disgustingly kind hearted self, would be knocking on Loki's door asking him to join him for breakfast. Thor had become frighteningly domestic in his stay on Earth. Loki let out an amused huff of air at the thought of what Sif and the Warriors Three would think if they could see the mighty Thor now.

It wasn't until later when Loki was pressing the buttons on the black machine sitting on the counter-Thor had been right about a few things, though he would never admit it but Loki had grown quite fond of coffee-that he let out a soft snort and wondered what the Warriors Three would think of _him _were they to see him now.

As Loki sat at the kitchen table enjoying the calm before the storm of Thor's personality, a soft shuffling behind him alerted him to the presence of another. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted Jane. She was still in her robe, her hair a mess, as she sat down opposite him and slumped forward, letting her head fall onto her arms as she laid them on the table. There were moments when Loki didn't mind Jane. Unlike so many mortals he had come to meet and observe, she didn't deem it necessary to fill every waking moment with incessant chatter. Loki was known for his way with words, his silver tongue, but he appreciated those who knew the value in the space they left behind.

The companionable silence was soon broken when Thor strode into the kitchen, a smile set firmly on his face. "Good morning, brother," he announced brightly and Jane let out a muffled moan against her arm. Thor's smile widened as he went to the coffee maker and poured a cup. He sat down and slid it across the tabletop into Jane's lax hand earning him a mumbled "Thanks," in return. Thor turned to face his brother.

"Was the rest of your evening pleasant, Loki?"

Loki eyed Thor, the insinuating tone was light but it had been present nevertheless. "I made sure Darcy was returned safely to her bed." Thor's eyes eyebrows twitched up. "And then I retired to mine. I assume you and Jane had a far more eventful evening?"

Jane grumbled something under her breath, making Thor laugh as he rested his hand on the back of her neck, rubbing the muscles with his thumb. "It was an evening to be remembered. You should have seen what Jane did with the-"

Jane shot up suddenly, glaring at her boyfriend, "You swore!"

Thor chuckled again and raised his hands in surrender as Jane slumped back into her chair, grabbing and cradling the coffee against her chest like a prized possession. She took a hesitant sip and then eyed the two men speculatively. "It is far too early for both of you to look so alert," she said as she hunched over the mug and inhaled the scent.

Thor pat her knee as he spoke, "It is a Sunday, Jane, there is no need for you to be awake yet. Please feel free to return to bed, Loki and I are perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves. I assure you we have done so for ages." He gently took the cup from her hands and she looked at him for a moment before shrugging, standing up and shuffling back out of the kitchen. Thor watched her go, as always, with a smile on his face.

Loki watched his expression with interest. Sometimes even he had a hard time believing how different this new Thor was from the Thor of his youth. His youthful, brash, and bloodthirsty personality calmed into something wiser, at ease, and contemplative. Where he was once quick to anger and eager to battle, his first line of action now was to take council with his peers, walking through the problem with words instead of beating it down with his hammer. Loki had no doubt Odin would be proud of this man before him. The thought made his stomach turn.

Thor must have seen the flicker of distaste that crossed his features, his own smile fading. "She is simply worried that there will not be enough here to keep you occupied, she knows how hard you are trying and she believes me when I tell her you have changed."

Loki went along with the misunderstanding, not wanting to broach the topic of his would-be father anytime soon. "Of course. Does she know the exact nature of my punishment? She would surely have even less to worry about if she were aware of all the _fine _details."

Thor's eyes darkened. "No, Loki. That is your tale to tell and yours alone. No one will know unless you- Good morning, Darcy!" Thor's face lightened considerably and Loki glanced over his shoulder, seeing the girl in question enter the room.

"Morning, Thor," she glanced between the two, "No one will know what? What were you guys talking about?"

Without missing a beat, Thor responded. "We were simply discussing last night. My dearest Jane had a bit too much to drink but sadly I have been forbidden to tell the tale." Loki was almost proud at how smoothly the lie rolled off his tongue. Darcy simply accepted the line and made herself busy digging through the cupboards.

Loki watched appreciatively as she stretched to reach something on a high shelf, a sliver of skin showing as her shirt rose. As he finished the dregs of his coffee, he stood up and walked over to the sink, rinsing out the cup and placing it in the rack. Darcy continued to struggle and in a moment of impishness he approached her from behind, his body close enough to feel the warmth radiating from hers. He heard the moment she realized he proximity in the way her breath hitched. He smiled, noting how her head barely reached his shoulders and he let himself enjoy the way he towered over her before he reached up slowly, his hand brushing hers, and grabbed the box she had been struggling to get. He placed it on the counter in front of them.

"Ah. Um. Thank you?" Darcy managed to squeak out.

Loki grinned to himself and brought his hand up to her shoulder and bent his head forward, getting closer to her ear. "You are most welcome," he said, voice low, as his finger lightly traced down the length of her bared upper arm before he stepped back and sauntered out of the room. Thor watched the whole thing with great interest.

It was later that day when Darcy and Jane had made off for a movie downtown, which they claimed to be a Sunday tradition, that Loki was left alone with Thor. They had invited the brothers but when Loki turned the offer down just barely restraining a scowl, Thor refused as well.

"You know full well I am not a child, Thor. I do not need looking after," Loki said as he flipped through the pages of a book, curled up in the armchair in the living room. Thor sat on the couch to his right, his usual tendency of sprawling over whatever piece of furniture had the dubious task of holding him up replaced with a stiff spine and the nervous habit of tapping his fingers on his knee. He had been feigning watching the television where two groups of men in bright colors and odd clothing seemed to be running into each other, lining up, and then running into each other again. Loki was willing to let Thor sit there, knowing Thor was there just to watch over him, content with Thor's obvious discomfort. Enough was enough, however, when Thor moved on to noisier habits such as cracking his knuckles. It was loud enough to break Loki's concentration.

"Yes, I know. It is not that." Thor paused, and the hesitation on his face put Loki on full alert. That look on Thor's face never bode well for Loki. Thor inhaled deeply, "My shield brothers and I here on Earth were invited to an event. They wish to thank us for the many foes we have bested. It is in two weeks time and I would be honored to have my brother stand at my side."

Loki's eyes were rolling before he even finished the sentence. "What about your dear Jane? Will she not be in attendance?"

Thor smiled. "Yes, of course she will be. But I would still be immensely proud to have you there with me."

"At a celebration to give thanks for The Avengers? You wish me to attend?"

Thor nodded.

"For their great conquests in the face of evil? For their victories against those who wish to do harm to this realm?"

Thor nodded again.

"And as one of those great evils, as one who wished to bring the Earth to its knees, you would be _honored _if I stood beside you?"

Thor didn't cower at the weight of Loki's gaze; the only sign of doubt was but a mere moment, a flicker in his expression as he nodded once more.

"Loki, I will not deny you have done great evil. I will not make excuses for your actions. But if there is one thing I have learned in my time on Earth it is that, even in us, even in those whose lives have lasted eons longer than the mortals you once tried to heel, there is great capacity for change. I have already seen it in you. I have seen part of the weight you carry on your shoulders lifted. You might not agree with Father's methods and had you asked me when your sentence was carried out, I would have said you did nothing to deserve Mother's help... but what is done is done. You might not believe me, you might not see it yourself, but I do. I have faith in you, brother, and I want to show the others to trust my faith."

Loki didn't speak. To be honest he was slightly stunned at Thor's speech. While Loki knew Thor was more than capable of making great and inspirational speeches to those under his command in the heat of battle, it had been a long time since Loki had had one aimed at him and only him. He looked over Thor's face, searching for any sign of weakness, any sign that the words were only words, but all he saw was honesty. Thor truly believed what he was saying and Loki wasn't sure how to respond.

He swallowed, a little dryly. "I will... I will consider your invitation," he said, voice a little rougher than normal. He turned back to his book, flipping a page, pretending to be engrossed. Pretending he wasn't watching Thor's every move.

The way Thor smiled in response, Loki would have thought he had already said yes. Thor stood up and walked towards the kitchen, before pausing and tossing his parting words over his shoulder. "I have it under good authority that Lady Darcy will be in attendance that night, if that may sway your decision."

Loki's eyes snapped up to Thor's retreating back as he left the room.

* * *

Darcy hooked her arm through Jane's as they walked side by side out of the theater, still giggling over the movie. The air outside was crisp but the sun was shining, and Darcy smiled as she inhaled the fresh air.

"Let's go get something greasy. I need something greasy," Jane said, already looking around for anything that even remotely resembled a restaurant.

Darcy eyed Jane, "Just how much _did_ you have to drink last night?"

Jane shook her head. "I'd really rather not think about it." She paused for a moment. "Actually, I'd just really rather not remember that last night happened at all."

Darcy hummed in response and steered them in the direction of the diner she knew was a few blocks over. After a few minutes, feeling Jane's eyes boring a hole in the side of her face, Darcy turned to look at her. "What?"

Jane narrowed her eyes a bit before she asked, "How was the rest of your night? Was Loki alright to deal with?"

"Loki was a perfect gentleman. We didn't stick around too long after you left and he got me home safe and sound. No worse for the wear." She didn't mention the fact that Loki had actually put her to bed but Jane clearly didn't need to know that.

She could still feel Jane's eyes on her so she huffed out a breath. "What, Jane? What's the problem?"

Jane's eyebrows went up. "No problem at all, Darce. I'm just a little surprised. Loki's been pretty standoff-ish when it comes to people here on Earth. He only just tolerates Thor, and I think he and Tony could actually get along if they could both see past their own egos, but he just seems to get along with you." She shrugged. "Thor's noticed it. He seems to be happy about that. And I'm happy for him but I'm also a little..." she trailed off. Darcy shot her an inquisitive eyebrow. "I'm just a little worried for you. Sure it's great for Thor and great for Loki to have someone that he doesn't hate here but I just have to wonder what that might mean for you."

Darcy nodded as they walked across the street. "I get it. Great for Loki, possibly horrible for me. I wouldn't put too much stock in it, though. The dude just hasn't threatened to kill me. I wouldn't go buying us friendship bracelets just yet."

Jane laughed and opened the door to the diner. "I'm overreacting, I know. It's just so hard to gauge what a proper reaction is anymore. We are about as far from normal as they come."

Darcy giggled, "You've got that right. You are dating the literal God of Thunder, the actual person on which we have thousands of years of mythology based; and last week I walked in on that very same guy in his boxers with his hand knuckle-deep in the peanut butter jar."

Jane made a face. "I told him to quit doing that!"

They continued to try to outdo one another with stories of what they had seen or run into in the tower as the hostess sat them in their booth. They moved on to exchanging stories of what happens when Tony Stark doesn't get enough sleep as the waitress took their orders and, finally, they were discussing Steve Rogers and his ability to break their hearts with just a look as their food was set down in front of them.

Darcy popped a fry into her mouth. "I just feel so bad for him. He seems so lonely, you know? I try talking to him when I see him but he just seems so-I don't know-detached, I guess."

Jane nodded. "He's getting better, though. I see him and Thor hang out a lot. I think there's a bit of camaraderie there, they're both a bit like fish out of water when it comes to our world. And he seems to get along well with Tony when they aren't bickering like an old married couple."

Darcy grinned. "Just think of how often the fate of the world has been left in the hands of those two," she said fondly, "not to mention peanut butter fingers back home."

Jane snorted into her drink and coughed. She shook her head before she spoke, "I'd rather not, thanks. But, actually, talking about Steve reminded me of something. You remember that gala thing we agreed to go to in a couple of weeks?"

"Um."

"Darcy," Jane sighed. "We talked about it ages ago. Thor wants us to come along. It's some kind of reception for The Avengers. A thank you type thing. It's a pretty big deal. Dresses and everything."

"Let's just say I remember and you can continue with whatever it was you were going to say."

Jane gave an exasperated sigh. "I was talking to Steve the other day and apparently he has got a date."

Darcy's eyebrows went up. "What? Who? Why wasn't I aware of this?"

"It's all a little bit weird but apparently he met this SHIELD agent and I guess she's the niece of the girl he used to be sweet on back in the 40s. They've been eating lunch together at Stark Tower a couple of times a week, according to Thor, and I guess he finally got the guts to ask her out."

"Well good for him," Darcy said, happy to hear the good news. It tugged at her heartstrings whenever she saw that sad puppy dog look on his face. She was never sure if she wanted to hug him, tell him everything would be okay and start singing the songs her mother sang to her when she was a child, or if she wanted to see what she could do about kissing the frown right off those big, pouty lips. She wasn't blind, after all.

"Definitely. But that's what I was going to ask you about. I ran into her the other day. She's just really nervous about everything, going to something like this with someone as famous and well known as Steve. And I guess Thor said something about me and, well, she wanted to know if I'd help her find a dress. I think she just wants a little bit of back-up."

"Girl power?" Darcy asked.

"Exactly."

"And what's this have to do with me?"

"Well..." Jane grinned brightly. "Since you know how horrible I am with fashion, I was already planning on asking you to help me."

Darcy laughed. "So you want me to help you help her?"

"Exactly!"

"I suddenly feel like I'm back in high school. Should we all get mani-pedis at the same time, too?" Darcy took a bite and chewed thoughtfully on her burger.

"So you'll help me?"

Darcy shrugged. "Sure, why not? Can't be worse than the time I helped Bruce get un-naked after hulking out in the tower."

Jane just stared at Darcy. "Our lives are _so weird_."

"Truer words, my friend." She thought about it for a moment. "An agent, an astrophysicist, and a deadly agent for a super secret spy agency? That is bound to be a good time. I'm going to have so many awesome stories for the grandkids."

They ate in silence for a few minutes, watching the people walk by out the windows as they enjoyed their food.

"Oh," Jane said, remembering what Thor had told her last night.

"Hmm?" Darcy responded, sipping through her straw, her eyes still focused outside.

"Thor's going to invite Loki. You didn't have a date, right?"

This time it was Darcy's turn to choke on her drink.


End file.
